Many parcels delivered to local foodbank

Kapiti Community Foodbank volunteer Gordon Whittleston with Paraparaumu College students India Harvey, Ella Bagley, Lily Haughton and Alice Bache. Photo / David Haxton

The Kāpiti Community Foodbank has received a special delivery from Paraparaumu College.

A group of students and staff have created a huge amount of food parcels which has been heartily welcomed by the foodbank as the festive season, often a lean and stressful time for many, looms.

At the end of the school year, students get to choose from a range of elective subjects which is an opportunity to explore other subject areas and develop additional skills.

Giving back to the community was one of the electives, which was the brainchild of the college’s head of food and nutrition Dionne Ross.

With the end of the school year fast approaching, and a long summer break on the horizon, food in the fridge and freezer in the college’s B2 food/nutrition/hospitality room needed to be used.

Ross’s idea would create a wide range of meals, and more, from the food and give it to Kāpiti Community Foodbank customers.

Some of the many frozen meals. Photo / David Haxton

The call went out, and lots of students as well as staff, including Ross, head of health Brenda McKenzie, food technician Dale Bain and associate principal Andrea Stonehouse, turned up and spent two days hard at work creating a lot of delicious food.

“We used whatever we had left in the freezer and fridge from throughout the year, bought a few things, and we made mini-Christmas cakes, fruit mince tarts, meringues, gingerbread, mixed berry jam, banana bread, bacon and mushroom risotto, shepherd’s pie, spaghetti bolognese and butter chicken meals,” Ross said.

Despite the heat from the ovens and stoves, everyone had a great time, singing along to Christmas tunes and enjoying the staff’s festive attire which included fake deer antlers.

Some of the Christmas treats. Photo / David Haxton

“We got a real Christmas feel going.”

Various items were gift-wrapped, and ingredients were identified in case people had allergies before an appreciative foodbank volunteer Gordon Whittleston loaded up a van and took everything to the foodbank.

Ross was “really pleased” with the venture and “very proud of our students”.

“We feel like we’ve done something good for the community.

Jars of mixed berry jam. Photo / David Haxton

“The students felt really good and felt like they had achieved something.

“It was two days of hard work but worthwhile hard work.”